A couple of new projects are in the bag!

I have historically carried one of those free tote bags provided to librarians. I thought it was time to make myself something that I could feel good about carrying. It's a little fun, a little retro, and a little fruity. Just like me...

Pattern: The tote from The Better Bag Maker

Fabric: from my stash. So excited to say that... bags might be my stash buster. The fruit fabric was for my old kitchen. The lining is a remnant from my current kitchen curtains. 

Project review: I love this bag. I struggled with the zippered pocket instructions. I'm very pleased with the end product. It's roomy and holds all of my work items - to include my lunch sack! In addition to the size, I love that it has a stable base and structure. There are multiple pockets which prevents all of my items from being lost in the bottom of the bag. 

Take 2:

That's a wrap! An Elodie wrap to be exact!

This is probably not the best photo of my Elodie dress but it is one of my makes in the wild. I made it to wear at a special event. I love how much more confident that I feel in one of my me mades. 

Pattern: Elodie Wrap Dress from Closet Core

Fabric: $4 sale fabric from JoAnn's. 

Project review. I love Closet Core patterns. They are easy to follow and every single one I've tried has turned out really well. I love that there is a blog post with a variety of pattern adjustments available. This dress has plenty of coverage and would probably be absolutely fine for almost everyone. I do prefer a more modest neckline. I intend to make another dress with that adjustment. 

Here's take 2:

Orange you glad it's fall?

I am just completely smitten with orange this fall. I don't know that this is any sort of trend. I think it's more about football and pumpkin spice. I have decided to just fully embrace it and drag others along with me. I also wanted to try my hand at production style sewing after listening to one of my favorite podcaster rave about it. I greatly enjoyed it. Duplicates might be in my future. For now, one of these clutches will be donated to a door prize raffle with some additional surprises inside.

Pattern: Asteria Clutch from Cloudsplitter Bags

Fabric: quilting cotton in orange and a bee print. Pellon SF101 interfacing.

Project review: I absolutely love the Cloudsplitter Bags instruction booklet. Instructions are available with photos or pure text. Instructions that are important, such as unzipping the zipper, are written in red and repeated frequently. It was super easy to follow and the results were great on the first try.

Bee kind. Bee busy.

Dressing the home too!

Since this is a project journal, I wanted to make sure that I remember all of my sewing projects. Even this one that feels like less of an accomplishment. It's just sewing rectangles, so... for future reference: here's that time I made those curtains.

I've learned through countless moves that it takes me a very long time to settle into my space. Unfortunately, this means that with most of our moves, I was just settling in as the movers were packing us back out! This house is half the size of our last, which should mean that settling in should take half of the time, right? I'm not certain that math will work out but I definitely feel ahead of schedule.

These were such simple valances that there really wasn't a pattern involved. Simple ruffles.

Fabric: Calico from Malone's Fabric

Project review: I absolutely love them!

Blue Jean Making Machine

Pattern: Ginger Jeans, view B meaning mid rise

Size: 14 (bad choice)

Fabric: Blue denim with 5% stretch

I chose to purchase the Sew Your Dream Jeans course from Closet Core and also the jean hardware kit. I was a bit intimidated by the magnitude of making jeans. I wanted to set myself up for success as much as possible. This class is the absolute BEST! One of the things I absolutely LOVE about the class is that it's broken down into chapters. It makes it very easy to reference and review. It also segmented the jeans into small bite sized bits. The course is self paced and is accessible forever. Love it!

Project review: BIG WIN! I absolutely LOVE my jeans though I made a major miscalculation. I followed the recommendation and constructed a basted muslin for the purposes of fitting. BOY, did I need it. It helped me make the following adjustments one at a time:

1st adjustment: Inside back thigh taken in by 1" to remove bulk from the seat.

2nd adjustment: Yoke taken in with a V shape by 1" at the top edge to 1/4" at the bottom. The waist band was also taken in to match the shape and size.

3rd adjustment: Removed 1/2" front and back outside seams for a total of 1" removed from each side to fit to form.

4th adjustment: center seam adjustment from the top of the seat to pull in the bulk.

5th adjustment: Waist band taken in at four spots spread evenly around the band for a total of about 2".

Clearly the legs are still looser than the pattern is designed. After all of the adjustments, I really was just happy to have something wearable. They stay up without a belt. Both legs are the same size and length. I very carefully transfer all of the adjustments to the pattern pieces for 'next time.' After seeing all of the ink and finished project, I decided to just scrap the pattern and make a smaller size next time.

I feel like with all of that, I need to focus on what went well:

1. I love my jeans & they are wearable.
2. The top stitching looks better than I hoped.
3. My machine is more capable than I thought it was.
4. I can actually install jean buttons
5. The polka dot lining fabric just brings me great joy.

Camo Cruise Shorts

These shorts!! I love them. I want them know in every color. The short pattern was for a dressier short. That's not my life. I'm either business or casual or church. Dressy short is a life style I don't understand. Suiting? In a short? In truth, they were supposed to be more Bermuda length. At 5'2" long shorts is another thing I just can't identify with. I purchased a couple of different fabrics trying to make it work. I ultimately decided on this camo and boy am I thrilled. Absolutely perfect choice for a great pair of shorts. These are perfect for travel though I could have benefitted from making a smaller size. These are 44 in Burda and a 42 with the stretch in the fabric would have been absolutely perfect.

Fabric: Stretch denim

Project review: I LOVE them. I've found that Burda seems to really make for my shape. The shorts are perfect at the waist and the hips. I love that the shorts call for a slide instead of a button at the waist. I think this makes the waistband lay flat and a smoother silhouette. The pockets are tucked into the side seam which again makes for a smooth silhouette. The pockets are also large enough for my cellphone which is a huge priority in travel attire.

Adjustments made - I strongly recommend a thinner cotton fabric for the pockets to keep from getting too bulky. I also significantly shortened the length to make the shorts more appealing on my frame.

White Summer Dress

 I am in absolute love with this super comfortable and airy summer dress.

Fabric: already smocked white cotton from JoAnn's

Pattern: self drafter - I mean it's a couple of ruffles for sleeves and shortened with a ruffle to pull up the hem. I'm not doing anything fancy over here.

I love everything about it. I love that I was able to keep the beautifully embroidered and scalloped hem. I love the shoulder ruffles. I love that it's so big and cozy that I can knot it up and garden in it.